'It was such a large mass'; Doctors remove 17 contact lenses lodged in woman's eye

A 67-year-old woman who had complained about discomfort and dryness in one eye likely didn't see the news that was about to hit her.

According to British Medical Journal, doctors were about to perform a scheduled cataract surgery on the woman at the Solihull Hospital near Birmingham, England when they discovered the “bluish mass” that had developed over an eye was actually 17 lodged contact lenses.

The medical team performing the operation were astonished by the finding.

“None of us had ever seen this before,” Rupal Morjaria, a specialist trainee ophthalmologist, told Optometry Today. “It was such a large mass. All the 17 contact lenses were stuck together. We were really surprised that the patient didn't notice it because it would cause quite a lot of irritation while it was sitting there.”

The cataract surgery was postponed after the lenses were discovered at the increased risk of an eye infection.

The senior said she has been wearing disposable contact lenses for 35 years and did not schedule regular optometrist appointments.

“She was quite shocked. When she was seen two weeks after I removed the lenses she said her eyes felt a lot more comfortable,” Morjaria said. She thought her previous discomfort was just part of old age and dry eye.”